Memory- Do i need it and if so, Where from?

The 250GB is referred to as disk space (as opposed to memory), and is used for permanent storage of your operating system, apps, and user data. It doesn't slow your computer down if you have things stored on your drive, unless you're almost out of space. It's a good idea to leave 10% of your drive space free... more is better. If you start running out of space, you can get an external disk drive to move some of your data to, or you can buy and install a larger internal disk drive.

Memory, or RAM, is the 2GB that you referred to, and is used by your Mac for things that are currently running. Your Mac manages RAM, making it available to running apps as they need it. If you run low on RAM, it can slow your system down, since your computer has to write contents of RAM to your hard drive before the RAM can be used to store new information.

To determine if you can benefit from more RAM, launch Activity Monitor (in your /Applications/Utilities folder) and click the System Memory tab at the bottom to check your page outs. Page outs are cumulative since your last restart, so the best way to check is to restart your computer and track page outs under your normal workload (the apps, browser pages and documents you normally would have open). If your page outs are significant (say 1GB or more) under normal use, you may benefit from more RAM. If your page outs are zero or very low during normal use, you probably won't see any performance improvement from adding RAM.

Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor

• Apple does not manufacture RAM and charges more than you would pay with other reputable RAM providers.
• Some great sources for Mac-compatible RAM are OWC, Crucial and newegg.com.
• Installation of user-installable parts such as RAM does not void the Apple Warranty or the AppleCare Protection Plan, unless you damage something in the process.
  
  
• MR Guide to Buying RAM
• MR Guide to Understanding Intel Mac RAM
• MR Guide to Matched RAM on Intel Macs
  
  
• MacBook Pro: How to remove or install memory
• MacBook: How to remove or install memory
• iMac: How to remove or install memory
• Mac mini: How to remove or install memory

You can find specs on all Apple products, including maximum RAM:

• By visiting EveryMac.com: Actual Maximum RAM
• By selecting your model on the Crucial Memory Advisor™ Tool to find RAM information
• By using Mactracker
• By entering your serial number here to find specs for your model.
  (Be aware that some models can use more RAM than Apple shows. Check EveryMac to verify actual usable RAM.)

 

If you are considering upgrading your physical memory (The RAM they GGJ explains so well in his post) visit Crucials site and run the free diagnostic tool there. This will tell you if you can upgrade the amount of RAM in your Mac.

It's 100% safe to use:

http://www.crucial.com/uk/systemscanner/MacOS.aspx

It will also ensure you purchase the right modules for your machine. Installing it is a simple process and is detailed by Apple themselves:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1651

Just choose your model in the list.

 

I have the 2010 edition of that macbook and I recently upgraded my ram from 2GB to 8GB.. I bought mine from OWC while they were having a sale last week. They get pretty good reviews and they're pretty cheap. You should look at them. OWC also sales HDs too.

 

Used Crucial and OWC in my MacBook Pros. No issues with either.

 

RAM upgrades are a great idea. I upgraded to 8GB in my MBP and noticed a difference plus with the price of RAM coming down it can be done on the cheap. YOu can check your ram usage but using utility monitor and see what your page outs are any thing significant about about 1gb you will benefit from more RAM.